A Third Introduction

Blurty, Livejournal, now Blogspot. In some form or another, I've had a blog since 2003. I've had one since before the word "blog" even became popular. (lol hipster) I decided to begin this third generation with a brief little intro mostly aimed at anyone who doesn't know that much about me. Chances are most, if not all, of the people that read this won't need this information....but I am hoping to snare some new readers, so let's go for it.

I grew up in Durham, Connecticut and graduated from New York University in 2005 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Cinema Studies and a minor in Journalism and Mass Communication. College was full of big and happy changes for me. I became part of "The Cartel," a group of guys (and one girl) who enjoyed playing Smash Brothers, going out for dinner, shooting the shit about various forms of entertainment, and generally communicating in a dialect composed of inside jokes and cultural references. Even the title of this blog is a tribute to one of the most enduring jokes from our social circle. If any non-cartel members can figure out what exactly it means, I'll be very impressed.

During college, I also met my girlfriend of five years. Katie has continually been a steady and essential part of my life during those NYU years and beyond. She instilled in me a wider awareness of current events, particularly politics. As I got obsessed with the Connecticut Senate race last year, she may have sat back and wondered to herself "What hath I wrought?"

Another project I have in the works in Master of the Wind. It's a seven-part superhero game made with RPG Maker XP. XP is only the newest evolution of the RM programs I've tooled around with for years, and this time around I collaborated with my old friend Mark, aka "ArtBane." Progress updates on the game should be frequent sights in this blog as well.

In terms of my post-college life, I've certainly used more of the Journalism than the Cinema Studies. However...it is summer, and I do still write movie reviews for the Town Times. On May 21, I start my full-time reporter position at the Southington Observer (only took two years), but that won't keep me from weighing in on this summer's films...and during Oscar season, well, you'll see.

So welcome [back] to the lab.